Reasons You Should Visit Colette This Summer

Colette Grand Cafe in Toronto has a reputation for being a strikingly beautiful French restaurant and cafe, and it's easy to see how they hold that status. Pictured below is their outdoor pavilion, situated between a calm water feature on one side and a bustling park on the other.

Wednesday was a customer appreciation day of sorts, where Colette served up free food and sangria to local patrons. Upon entering the pavilion we were immediately offered freshly shucked oysters (good call guys!) and were greeted by the fragrant smell of a charcoal BBQ. Oysters are one of my favorite foods to eat in a restaurant because they are generally freshly shucked right before serving which reduces the possibility of cross-contamination. They are also a meal or snack on their own, and pair really well with either wine, bubbly, or beer, depending on the restaurant and location. There are enough varieties that the meal can be interesting without getting too adventurous into the front of unknown (and un-allergy-tested) foods. So oysters are unsurprisingly one of my go-to menu items to order when dining out.

I've been to Colette for coffee, lunch, and dinner many times and I'm always impressed with how they handle my food allergies. When dining with my family there are three of us with severe allergies and the staff is always able to accommodate our requests with diligence and grace. They tick off all the boxes I generally check for:
- The server is understanding, writes down the allergies, clarifies when needed, and doesn't make a patronizing remark
- They check with the chef before confirming that the item I've ordered is suitable
- The allergies are reiterated when the plate is brought to the table
- The staff is knowledgeable about the menu specifics and about allergens, cross contamination, etc.

View fullsize

Joella and Bran tasted some of their other offerings, including this delightful little salad skewer, a grilled octopus bite with raisins, and sangria. They gave rave reviews to everything especially the octopus. In Bran's words, "This is how octopus should be done!"

Another reason to visit Colette is the atmosphere. The place is full of thoughtful little touches and fresh flowers. It's a great place to sit and sip a coffee or linger after an abundant dinner.If you live in Toronto, head over there this weekend! And if you don't, add it to your list of places to try out on your next visit. You won't be disappointed.

Mands.

A Sirocco Blows Through Toronto

Upon opening Sabrina Ghayour’s cookbook, I learned a few things. First, she cleared up what the title means (thank god, I hadn’t a clue). She defines a sirocco as a “hot, dry wind blowing from East to West, often carrying with it flavors of the Mediterranean.” Next I learned that although I couldn’t find some of the key flavors commonly found in the book, it would be okay because she designed the recipes to not be reliant on one main ingredient. Admittedly I was concerned when I did my initial flip-through because I knew I would have trouble finding sumac and other spices at my closest Loblaws. Knowing that we could carry on without them allowed me to keep my options open when selecting recipes.

I welcomed two of my close friends, Joella and Cailen, into my kitchen to prepare three recipes and share a meal together. Joella’s a pro now, this being her third book review on my site! And Cailen is pretty skilled in the kitchen as I came to learn.

We agreed that the aesthetic of the book is very “Instagram-y”, especially with the table of contents arranged like a grid and the photos altered with a hazy filter making them super grammable.

Lamb Lettuce Wraps

So we made a major substitution here and used beef tenderloin instead of lamb because Loblaws had a great sale and I couldn’t resist. The marinade tasted amazing and I know it would also have been fab on lamb. It consisted of soy sauce, honey, cumin, garlic, and a ton of cinnamon. We let the meat marinate while we put together the kale salad (below). Just before serving we made the peanut sauce, using sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. There was a lot of sauce left over so I think in future I would maybe make half the recommended amount. The beef was so rich and juicy, and the cinnamon added the most amazing depth of flavor. We grilled it using a Persian style of metal kebab stick, although you could fry the meat as per the recipe. The lettuce cups and “peanut” sauce helped to round out and freshen up the aromatic marinade. This was such a wonderful dish and I would definitely make it again. It’s perfect for entertaining.

Marinated Kale Salad

The kale salad also had to sit and marinate so we worked on that right after dressing the raw beef. Kale is such a thick, tough green that absorbs dressing really well. After a few hours in the fridge it had soaked up the apple-based pureed vinaigrette while still having great texture and color. We all agreed that it wasn’t the right salad to accompany the beef, so that was poor menu curation on my part. But I would definitely make it again and serve with a simpler protein like grilled chicken or shrimp. 

Caramelized Fennel

Being Italian, I’m no stranger to cooking with fennel or snacking on it raw, though I’ve never had it prepared like this. Jo coated the chunks of fennel in powdered sugar and then Cailen gave them a light fry in olive oil. Something went a little wrong with the herb sauce; it smelled great but it was a lot thicker than we figured it was supposed to be. It was about 10pm by the time we got around to the end of the meal prep and we decided to sacrifice the sauce so we could sit down and eat. The fennel was a close contender for best dish, really yummy and caramelized. The sugar wasn’t overpoweringly sweet like I thought it would be and actually gave it a nice creamy texture. 

The next recipes I can’t wait to make
Marinated Scallops (pg. 100) – HUGE cravings for this one
Eastern-Style Salmon Tartare (pg. 103)
Nectarine Pavlova (pg. 222)

How it rated for allergy-friendliness
I’ll be honest and say this book has a lotta nuts, legumes, and dairy (mainly yoghurt). Every recipe had to be altered but as I’ve mentioned in the past that’s totally cool with me. Recipes are for inspiration, not following the steps with precision. The goal is to make wonderful  food that you’ll enjoy and by using Ghayour’s recipes as a base I was able to make substitutions to suit my needs and everything turned out well.

You can pick up a copy of Sirocco at Indigo online or in store for $39.95 CAD

What a beautiful table (if I do say so myself)

And it looks much better with friends sitting around it!

Per La Famiglia: Colourful, Hearty, Delicious

I had a new pair of guests in my kitchen this week to test out the latest cookbook byEmily Richards, Per La Famiglia. Emily is a southern Italian cook and blogger who put together a wonderful collection of recipes that she grew up with. Food is always best when it’s made with passion and that is what really stands out with this book. My dad was born in Abruzzo which is kind of central Italy, I guess, but I found a lot of the recipes in this book are ones that my nonna makes all the time. Specifically the Ugly Cookies. And I love that Emily calls them ugly cookies because that is the best way to describe them. I’ve also eaten a ton of Pizzelle in my time and am somewhat of an aficionado when it comes to sauce-making. So basically what I’m getting at is that I was pretty excited to cook from this book!

Above we have Karan and Misha, my lovely guests. Misha does freelance makeup artistry so if you want to get her flawless glow here’s where to go. Karan is on his way to becoming a doctor… sorry, no link for that Misha described her skill level as comfortable in the kitchen while Karan prefaced the evening by telling me he was unskilled and to set low expectations haha. But alas, when a recipe is well-written, anyone can be a great chef for the night. We prepared several dishes from the book, including Pasta with Pesto, Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Antipasto platter, Tomato and Cucumber salad, and a basic green salad. You may be thinking – these are so basic and easy! Yes they are, but that’s what’s so wonderful about them especially when working with beginners.

Setting the tone
I set the tone for the evening by putting out a very basic antipasto platter of olives and prosciutto. This is standard fare in an Italian house. Usually I would include my dad’s homemade pickled eggplant and green tomatoes but unfortunately I was out of stock. Misha and Karan brought the Chianti, a classic type of Italian wine and one of my favorite varieties. I set the table with richly coloured flowers and bright blue and white accessories, colours that remind me of the Mediterranean. After a glass of wine everyone was ready to start cooking.

The Salad
We started off with the most simple dish, the Tomato and Cucumber Salad. In my opinion the flavors get better as it sits so you can easily prepare it ahead of time. Misha chopped tomatoes and cucumber while Karan cut up the garlic and onions.The veggies were tossed with good olive oil, vinegar, and herbs.

Pasta with Pesto
I was so excited for this dish because 1. I love pesto and 2. I was eager to test how pumpkin seeds would taste in place of pine nuts. The recipe also calls for cheese but we left it out to keep it dairy-free. Misha blended basil, garlic, Super Seedz pumpkin seeds (we all like how they were called Somewhat Spicy, and it was true), olive oil, salt, and pepper. And that was it, the sauce was done! Once the spaghetti was cooked we tossed it all together so each noodle was coated. The seeds add that hint of nutty flavor that the pine nuts would have provided while being allergen-free.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
Pasta with tomato sauce is my number 1 favorite thing to eat, hands down. It’s the ultimate comfort food that feels like home to me and so I decided we just had to make one of the sauce recipes from Per La Famiglia. Karan managed this recipe, chopping up the onions, garlic, herbs, and plum (or Roma) tomatoes. He sauteed the garlic, onion, and herbs in some olive oil, salt, and pepper until they became softened and aromatic. Then he added the tomatoes and let simmer, stirring from time to time. We tossed with penne and garnished with a bit more fresh herbs.

The feast

Things we loved
The food tasted delicious and each recipe was so simple to make.
This book oozed passion, from her family photographs to the recipes her nonna used to make. You can tell that she was very invested in it emotionally.
There are so many recipes I want to go back and make now! In particular the homemade gnocchi and a number of the desserts.

You can pick up your copy of the book here

Ciao!